Memphis Style Pulled Pork Barbecue

1. 1

   Mix the spices, herbs and sugar in a small bowl until thoroughly blended. Set aside 6 tablespoons of the mixture, and use as much as needed to heavily coat the pork roast. You may have rub left over; it keeps well in an airtight container and does wonders for any kind of pork or chicken. Wrap the roast tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

2. 2

   The next day, remove roast from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature. While it's warming, build your fire: two equal piles of charcoal briquettes on either side of a grill (barrel grills or other rectangular ones work best, though you can also use a kettle style smoker). Let the coals burn until they're covered with grayish white ash. Put the butt in between the two piles, so it gets indirect heat from both sides.

3. 3

   Meanwhile, in n a small saucepan, blend reserved 6 tbsp. dry rub mix, vinegar, water, tomato paste or ketchup, and worcestershire sauce. Add hot sauce to taste (a dash or two is good).

4. 4

   Once pork has cooked for an hour, baste with sauce every 30 minutes for 1 1/2 hours, and then go to an hourly baste for another six to seven hours, or until the bone in the pork wiggles freely. You will probably need to add coals during this process; build a separate fire and add the after they've already burned down to ash-covered. You can probably get by with adding coals twice during the period of cooking.

5. 5

   When bone wiggles freely and meat is pull-apart tender, remove from grill and tent with foil; allow to sit for at least 20 minutes. Serve by pulling chunks of meat from bone. Should, to be authentic, be served with vinegar cole slaw and baked beans; bread is optional, but roasted corn on the cob is nice. And gallons of iced tea and lots of cold beer.

6. 6

   If you want a sauce to serve on the side, take remaining basting sauce (or make more), add another 4 tbsp tomato paste, and simmer until it reaches the desired thickness.

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.